The present disclosure relates to semiconductor device manufacturing, and more particularly to a method of removing a semiconductor device layer from an underlying base substrate.
Devices that can be produced in thin-film form have three clear advantages over their bulk counterparts. First, by virtue of less material used, thin-film devices ameliorate the materials cost associated with device production. Second, low device weight is a definite advantage that motivates industrial-level effort for a wide range of thin-film applications. Third, if dimensions are small enough, devices can exhibit mechanical flexibility in their thin-film form. Furthermore, if a device layer is removed from a substrate that can be re-used, additional fabrication cost reduction can be achieved.
Efforts to (i) create thin-film substrates from bulk materials (i.e., semiconductors) and (ii) form thin-film device layers by removing device layers from an the underlying bulk substrates on which they were formed are ongoing.